I get to my shaky legs and reach for the door, but he grips my hair with his fists and starts dragging me across the floor. “Stop!” I cry, trying to twist in his grip. “Please,” I beg.
He kicks the bedroom door open and shoves me inside. “It’s just sex, Demi. Not like you’re not already a fucking slut.”
He reaches out for me, but I dart to the left. He gets a hold of my shirt and yanks on it, stretching it out before shoving me onto the bed. I kick and scream, knowing I won’t be loud enough. No one will hear me.
He takes a second to shove his jeans off his hips, and I ram my head into his face, smashing it into his nose.
“Fuck!” He growls, rolling off me.
I jump to my feet and run for the front door. I don’t look back. I don’t even stop to grab my bag. Nothing is more important than getting the fuck out of here.
“Demi?” I hear him scream my name as I run outside and to my car. “Demi!”
I yank open my car door, start it up, and throw it in reverse, not even bothering to look behind me.
“Demi?”
I blink to see Deke standing in front of me. “You okay?” he asks softly. His blue eyes searching mine.
“Yeah,” I lie. “Fine. Why are we here?” I look around to see a chair sitting in the middle of the living room. It’s empty, but a rope sits next to it on the floor along with a black duffle bag. Cole stands behind it, wiping his bloody knuckles off with a dish rag. And Bennett sits at the kitchen table with his phone in his hands.
I look at Deke and notice that he too has blood on his knuckles and shirt. “Are you okay?” I ask, placing my hands on his chest. His heart beats slowly, and his breathing is even. Whatever he did, didn’t even work him up.
“It’s not mine,” he says.
I swallow, immediately knowing who it belongs to. “Where is he?”
“He’s in the bedroom.” Cole is the one who answers.
I go to walk that way, but Deke places his hand on my shoulder and pulls me to a stop. I look up at him, and his blue eyes soften. “I’d rather you not.”
“But …”
“Can you trust me that I took care of it?”
“Did you kill him?” He had told me while in bed that he was going to kill him.
“People don’t have to stop breathing to stop living,” he says, and I understand. They took something from him, but it wasn’t his life.
I drop my eyes back to the chair and take a step back, letting him know I won’t go back there. No matter how badly I want to see what they did to him, he’s trying to protect me from something that he thinks I can’t handle. I like that he’s trying. That he actually cares to keep me innocent in their world filled with blood and chaos.
“Let’s go,” Deke orders.
Cole reaches out and snatches Austin’s car keys from her hands. Deke places his hands on my shoulders, spins me around, and ushers me out the front door. He opens up the back door of Austin’s SUV, and I crawl in with him. He pulls me into his side as Bennett gets in on the other side of me. Cole throws his dish rag and a black duffel bag into the back before he gets in and starts up the SUV as Austin gets in the passenger seat.
I snuggle up to Deke, and he kisses my hair. I close my eyes and release a sigh. It feels good for someone to stick up for me. I used to hate the GWS, but it seems they all came together to help me tonight.
“Where is Shane?” Austin asks no one in particular.
“He’s got my car,” Deke answers. “He had to run an errand but will meet us back at the house.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
DEKE
I PACE THE gravel road, holding my phone to my ear, but I’m met with silence. The drizzle slowly soaks my shirt, making it cling to my body. The Collins night air is cold, but I don’t feel it. I’m too wound up. My free hand is shoved into my jeans pocket, and I kick a loose rock around.
“I miss you,” she finally says. Her voice so soft, I barely hear it.
I smile and admit, “I miss you too, princess.” Coming to a stop, I turn and look at the clubhouse where the sharks and I spent most of our time over the past year and a half. “What are you doing right now?” I ask her while watching Cole pack his black duffle bag into the back of Bennett’s car.
“Lying on your bed,” she answers. “Naked.”
I moan at the visual. “You better be that way when I return tomorrow.”
The guys and I decided last night to make a quick trip back to Collins. Well, Bennett and Shane were coming home, but after Shane suggested Becky was Evan Scott, Cole and I decided it was time to find out once and for all. And if she is, we’re ending it.
We weren’t putting anyone else in danger. Evan had threatened Demi when Seth didn’t do as he ordered, so the clock was ticking. I wasn’t taking that chance again. I won’t gamble with Demi’s fate. Especially if her sister is the one calling the shots. She’s already hurt her enough. I was gonna end it for her. That’s the least I can do after trying to kill her myself.
“We’ll see,” she teases me. “Depends on what time you get back.” She’s fishing.
The guys and I didn’t tell the girls much. Just that we were taking a quick trip to Collins to take care of something. They knew. They exchanged a look. Austin turned and left the room. She’s still not talking to Cole. And Demi just nodded, leaving it at that.
They both knew they weren’t going to change our minds. It’s not like we’re gonna kill Becky. We’re just gonna make sure this shit ends once and for all.
“You ready?” I hear Austin’s voice on the other end of the phone.
“Yeah, give me one minute,” Demi answers her.
“What are you girls doing?” I ask. It’s a little after seven here. That makes it past nine there.
“Austin and I picked up Lilly earlier, and she asked if we could have a girls sleepover tonight since you guys are gone. So we’re gonna make a pallet in the living room, pop some popcorn, and eat our weight in chocolate while we get drunk off cherry Kool-Aid.”
I laugh.
“What’s so funny?”
“Just remembering when we were at Silence standing in line to get popcorn and you told me that you admired my lack of empathy,” I recall. She stays silent, and the smile drops off my face.
“I still do, Deke.” she says in a soft voice. “I never once wanted you to be or pretend to be someone other than who you are.”
I hate how much I needed to hear her say that. Deke Biggs doesn’t need permission to do anything. I always kept Becky in the dark regarding what I did with the sharks. She would have hated it, bitched about it, and made me out to be the bad guy. Which I am, don’t get me wrong. I know where I stand in the world of good versus evil. The one drowning in blood and full of hate. But look what she did. Look how far she went to hurt Demi. Or what she did to her back when they were younger. She’s tried to have her raped twice now. She deserves to pay for that. And that’s what the sharks do. They make you pay. In blood.
“I gotta go,” she says.
But how would she feel if I said those words to her? Her imagination isn’t nearly as dark as our actions are. “Demi—”